The Altruists
The Altruists are a cult appearing in Grand Theft Auto V. Background The Altruist Cult is a malevolent religion comprised entirely of old men from the baby boom generation that believe all other generations born after their own are the cause of all problems in the world. Cult members harbor a strong dislike towards technology, even though some members use cars, and the group maintains a website. The word "altruist" means a person who has a selfless concern for the welfare of others. The term can also be used to describe behavior that is detrimental to an individual, but is beneficial towards its relatives and offspring. Members of the cult can be seen walking around half naked, some fully naked, with their genitals on show. The cult makes their home in a small, but functional, fortified village in the Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness, with numerous buildings painted in their livery. The largest structure in the complex, pictured below, suggests that it is the home of the cult's leaders. Events of Grand Theft Auto V After the mission Nervous Ron, Trevor receives a text from Ron mentioning the cult requests lost souls, in exchange for cash. It is implied that the cult are cannibals, as Ron says that they just want them for dinner, and are obsessed with young blood. Trevor can take random event characters to their camp for a reward of $1,000 per person, where they are most likely killed and eaten. Trevor likely has a history of doing this, as he refers to the cult, as his friends in the mountains, during the Taliana Martinez rescue encounter. After four people are delivered, an event is triggered, in which Trevor is taken into the camp at gunpoint. He must then fight his way out of the compound by killing all of the cult members. There are 4 briefcases around the camp, with each containing $25,000, totaling $100,000, as well as an RPG, assault shotgun, baseball bat, and body armor, along with health on the gate watch tower. All of them, except the money, respawn. A random event can be triggered at Baytree Canyon Road in Grand Senora Desert, where two cult members attempt to attack a woman. The player must kill the attacking cult members and drive the woman home. Cave Directly North of the camp, dug into the cliff-face due South of the fork in the road, lies a shallow cave. The cave's walls and entry are adorned with painted symbols, and several phrases. The cave appears to be some kind of worship area, with Give Thanks prominently scrawled onto the face of rock above the entrance, along with Praise Him and See The Eye on the right side of the cave's wall. A campfire burns within the cave and a ram's skull can be found on the cave floor, which seems out of place, as nothing else points to the Altruists subscribing to Luciferian beliefs. The majority of the symbols scattered around the cave resemble the sun, with a single marking on the rear face of the cave very similar to UFO markings found elsewhere, particularly atop the diagram of the Mount Chiliad Cable Car Station, hinting at a connection between the cave and the Mount Chiliad Mystery. Culture The Altruists are widely believed to be sun worshippers, as their village is rife with graffiti depicting what looks like the sun, alongside messages such as Praise Him and He Is Risen, though this has never been solidly proven. Their website gives a lot of details about their culture, as does a lot of their dialogue, from which, players can infer that they hate the modern world, and its reliance on technology. They are quite militant about these beliefs. It seems to be common practice among them to attack and kill anybody, who enters their village, one exception being Trevor Phillips, who occasionally brings them hitchhikers, and so is seen as an affiliate by the altruists, though they do eventually attempt to kill him as well. Many hypotheses have been put forward, that link the altruists to the Mount Chiliad mystery. One of the glyphs they have drawn around their camp, seems to show the sun with a UFO in the center, and it has been suggested by theorists that the cult knows something about the mystery that they are not letting on, though, again, there is no hard evidence to prove this. Possible Inspirations It has been noted that the official in-game website of the Altruist Cult bears a strong resemblance to the real-life website of the Heaven's Gate religious group, which was a highly controversial religious millenarian group founded in 1970. The members of the Heaven's Gate gave up all of their material possessions, and abstained from pleasures, and modern indulgences, such as technology and clothing. The Heaven's Gate religious group gained notoriety on March 26, 1997, when the bodies of 39 members of the cult were found dead in a mansion in San Diego, California, as a result of a mass suicide carried out by them. While the ideology between Heaven's Gate and the Altruist Cult is quite similar, there aren't many other likenesses between the two groups. Website The cult's website is www.altruistsunite.com. As noted above, the cult's website, especially its color scheme and a list of beliefs, bears a strong resemblance to the Heaven's Gate official website. One can find the logo of the Altruist Cult there, along with a string of morse code. The morse code translates to: Mantra The Altruist Cult has a mantra that can be heard after Trevor delivers his fourth victim to the cult. The cult members will hold him at gunpoint, and lead him into the camp. A cutscene then begins, during which the cult members begin to chant: Youth Ban deceit Eat of the flesh Drink of the blood We shall be free once more Altruism The greatest good For the greatest generation We shall boom again He has come Hello seeker Hello finder We kneel before you We prostrate our continuing youth and vigor At this altar that has been sent to us Hello finder Prepare to be made pure Purity is everything Pure flesh Pure blood Purity is everything Trivia *In GTA Online, most of the Altruists are wearing some form of clothing to cover private parts. Whether this was due to censorship for online only is unknown. *An internet news article from the Daily Globe, after the mission Nervous Ron, reports the disappearance of several hitchhikers in the western hills and mountains of Blaine County. It is highly possible that these disappearances are connected with the Altruist Cult. A second news article is released from the Daily Globe about the disappearance of hitchhikers in the Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness, after the mission Hood Safari. *The few women in the camp are wearing full clothing at all times. Theory There is a theory that some people used the Jetpack, but failed and died leading to people forming the luddite Altruist Cult. There is a bat on the rock in Altruist Camp, which, around 7:00PM, is accompanied by a shadow, forming the Jetpack guy, similar to this one on the drawing in the Mount Chiliad Cable Car Station. Navigation Category:Myths Category:Myths and Legends in GTA V Category:Proven Myths Category:Cults Category:People